The Fall of Mnemosyne
by Sailor Titan
Summary: Sailor Mnemosyne and Lethe are caught in the midst of the horrific fighting between their sister planets. Will a senshi rise from the ashes to be the salvation of their two worlds...?


"Mnemosyne," A man's husky voice called out through the walls of the palace. "Sailor Mnemosyne!"

"What?" She responded quietly, fatigue in her eyes.

"There's been an attack on Lethe. The navy has deployed dragoons on our surface. They are...they are sacking the capital as we speak." It was her guardsman, Atlas. He looked at her, his eyes pleading. His armor was bent and worn, but well-maintained. He often spoke of protecting Mnemosyne with fervor; the land of the burning sunset.

"What do you want me to do?" she said, holding back tears.

"You're a sailor senshi," Atlas said, looking at her gleaming coral throne. "Surely you could--"

"I will not attack our sister," she said, the tears coming down despite herself. "Now not--not ever! Why do you continue to wring my heart with sorrow by asking me?"

"If you do not defend your people from the invaders, Mnemosyne will be in ruins," Atlas told her.

"And the capital of Lethe was in ruins after your attack just a fortnight ago," Mnemosyne replied. She covered her eyes with her hands. "This battle...is like a child, picking at their own scab," she replied. "We only wound ourselves more as we fight Lethe in this protracted battle."

"Then you will do nothing?" Atlas said sadly.

"I call on _you_ to do something," Mnemosyne said. "_Anything_--to stop the fighting."

Atlas sighed and shook his head. He turned and left, his soft pink cape dragging on the marble floor behind him.

"Charge the capital!" The general of Lethe's army cried. His face was a hideous mask of viciousness as he led the mish-mash of calvary and infantrymen forward.

"Myosotis Alpestris!" A voice cried. The General screamed as his body was torn apart. The Dragoons turned toward Sailor Lethe in shock as she emerged from the shadows, her paddle in hand.

"What is this madness?" A colonel demanded, stepping forward with a paddle-shaped polearm in hand. "You are the guardian of our planet...whose side are you on?"

"Not yours. I've decided," she said darkly, "If you don't give up the attack on Mnemosyne, I will slaughter you all myself." She frowned, resolved. This is what she should have done long ago. Mnemosyne always demanded mercy, but her kindness had only resulted in more suffering.

The colonel blanched, knowing that Lethe was not one to bluff. Did he dare send the rest of his army against the bearer of a sailor crystal?

"Lethe!" Mnemosyne shouted, appearing behind her sister. Lethe turned and sighed at the sight of her. Of course, her sister's sympathetic bond ensured that she knew instantly of Lethe's intentions.

"Don't try to stop me from doing what has to be done to protect this system!" she said. "I'm through staying out of things. I'm through hoping they'll listen to us of their own accord! We're sailor senshi. It's our duty to stop the fighting!"

"What good are we if we stop the fighting this way?" Mnemosyne asked. "Terrorizing mortals with our star power...would you have us reign over the people of our stars with fear, like tyrants?"

The colonel looked at Lethe hopefully. Mnemosyne's sister shook her head as she looked at him. How impudent. The very eyes that looked at her, terrorized and cowed, were more than happy to slaughter the people of Mnemosyne's planet with abandon. "Myo--"

"Rosmarinus officinalis!" Mnemosyne shouted, interrupting her as she held her own paddle aloft. The front line of the Letheian army was protected by a giant, vaguely rose-tinted shield.

"Mnemosyne--!" Her sister cried. "Don't interfere!"

"You know that I will never allow you to kill these people," Mnemosyne said to her sister.

"Why...?" The colonel asked. "We are the enemy! Why do you protect us?"

"I'm sick of the fighting," Mneomsyne said, facing him. "We and Lethe are sisters...our sailor crystals, and our planets. I can no longer stand to see sister fighting sister."

The colonel frowned. "I..." The time of peace between their planets was now little more than a memory in the hearts of men. Little more than a legend, that day when two blessed sisters were born, together, to guard their twin planets... "I cannot abandon--will not abandon everything my men have worked for. Even if we have to fight the senshi of our very own star, we will do so, Sailor Lethe! Are you with me?" He asked his soldiers, turning toward them and holding his polearm above him. There was the sound of enthusiastic cheering from the soldiers.

"So be it," Sailor Lethe replied darkly.

"Lethe--"

"Myosotis Alpestris!" she cried.

A huge explosion ripped across the planet. Terrified, Mnemosyne clutched her sister. Her attack had never had such power before. "What's happening?" Mnemosyne screamed amongst the low-pitched rumbling.

"I-I don't know!" Lethe cried, returning the embrace as they fell to their knees. "It's not my attack...!"

When the explosion stopped, everything was rubble around them. Mnemosyne's palace--normally a beautiful, rosy beacon on the horizon--had been completely leveled. The whole city was nothing but a pile of boulders and brick.

And it was so, so quiet. Mnemosyne had not seen such peace and quiet for as long as she could remember.

Ahead of them, what had once been a huge statue of the two of them, their hands held together high above them, was little more than a jagged obelisk. Atop it stood a woman, wearing a beautiful, metal fuku of glimmering gold and a brilliant crown on her head.

"Who...who are you...?" Mnemosyne asked.

"My name is Sailor Galaxia," she told her. "I've come to bring peace to these worlds."


End file.
